1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cooking utensils, specifically cooking vessels, and in particular to handles therefor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Much present day commercially available cookware, such as pots, pans, skillets and the like, is generally of all metal construction which includes a cooking vessel or receptacle and a one-piece metal handle which is fixedly secured to the vessel. Such arrangements are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,837,109 and 4,413,767. In these prior cooking vessels, the handle has an attachment flange or flanges which are secured to the vessel by studs or rivets. The flanges have been bent from the handle along a generally horizontal bend line which creates an area of weakness for concentration of forces applied to the handle in use so that the handle will tend to bend with respect to the vessel about this bend line. Over extended use, the handle may break at this bend line. Also, the riveted attachment to the vessel adds parts and complexity to the construction. The rivets also provide additional points of possible failure of the handle.
It is known to provide welded attachments of metal handle attachment flanges to cookware vessels, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,011,752. But this does not alleviate the problem of bending of the handle with respect to the flanges.
It is also known to provide handle assemblies including attachment flanges which are bent laterally from the handle along generally vertical bend lines, but these handle assemblies have been of relatively complex construction, affording additional points of potential failure and/or loosening in the handle.
Another significant drawback of one-piece handles in prior metal cookware constructions has been the transfer of heat to the handle by both convection from the heating source and conduction from the cookware vessel. This may make the handle too hot to be grasped by a user's bare hand, necessitating the use of a thermal insulating material on the handle.